1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a mounting structure for mounting a car-mounted device such as a radio or a magnetic tape player.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the case of incorporating car-mounted devices such as a radio and a magnetic tape player into the instrument panel of an automotive vehicle, two methods hitherto have been used mainly in Japan, that is, a method of fixing a main body of the device by screws or the like to the car body from the back side of a mounting hole formed in the instrument panel, and a method of inserting the main body of the device from the front of a mounting hole formed in the instrument panel. As employed herein, "front" of the instrument panel refers to the side thereof visible from the interior of the vehicle. In other nations the latter method prevails because of its excellent efficiency. In the former method, the step difference between the instrument panel and the front panel of the car-mounted device may be relatively lessened.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the latter mounting structure. A car-mounted device 1 is housed in a mounting tube 4 fixed in a mounting hole 3 formed in an instrument panel 2. A front panel 5 of this car-mounted device 1 projects from a main body 6 thereof.
Mounting members or pieces 7, 8 are fixed with screws or the like to opposite sides of main body 6. Elastic pieces or members 11, 12 are fixed at opposite sides of mounting tube 4. Detent pawls 14, 15 are formed in elastic members 11, 12 at upstream ends thereof in an inserting direction 13 of the car-mounted device 1, and detent pawls 14, 15 are inserted into detent holes 16, 17 formed in the mounting pieces 7, 8. In this condition, the front panel 5 projects from the mounting hole 3, and the car-mounted device 1 is incorporated in the instrument panel 2. A frame body 18 is provided around front panel 5 in order to enhance the aesthetic effect.
In such mounting structure, there is a relatively large degree of freedom between the size of the main body 6 and the size of the mounting hole 3, that is, the size of the mounting tube 4, so that there are few limitations in use of the car-mounted device 1 in various models of automobiles, which means that versatility is high.
In such prior art device illustrated in FIG. 1, in order to obtain a proper spring force, the elastic pieces 11, 12 must be formed with relatively long deflection parts 11b, 12b extending from base parts 11a, 12a fixed to the side walls of the mounting tube 4 in the upstream direction. Thus, the projection of the front panel 5 from the surface of the instrument panel 2 may be, for example, as large as 16 mm, which is not suitable in appearance. To solve this problem, if the elastic pieces 11, 12 are disposed behind the mounting tube 4, spaces for accepting the detent pawls 14, 15 of the elastic pieces 11, 12 must be formed in the device main body 6, and this is not suitable from the viewpoint of saving of space. However, if these problems could be solved, then this type of mounting structure could be employed in Japan, and the parts for Japanese market products and those for overseas market products could be commonly used, so that a reduction of costs could be expected.